Ivory Coast fans blame police for deadly stampede

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- Fans who survived a deadly stadium
stampede in the Ivory Coast blamed police Monday for the tragedy,
saying security forces provoked the panic by tear gassing people
who had nowhere to run.

World soccer body FIFA called for a prompt investigation into
the stampede Sunday at Abidjan's Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena that
left 19 people dead and injured more than 130. The president of
Ivory Coast declared a three-day period of mourning.

Tens of thousands of fans turned out to see Chelsea striker
Didier Drogba -- a native of Ivory Coast -- as the home team
squared off against Malawi at a World Cup qualifying match.
Interior Minister Desire Tagro said on state TV that fans outside
the stadium began pushing and shoving before the game began,
setting off the panic. But witnesses said that as fans tried to get
into the stadium, police fired tear gas into the crowd, setting off
the stampede.

The weight of the fans pushing forward caused a wall to come
crashing down, according to an AP photographer and other witnesses.
An Abidjan morgue listed 19 dead, and Tagro gave the number of
injured as 132.

Members of the Ivorian Football Federation denounced the police.
Senior federation member Anzouan Kacou told Radio France
Internationale that security forces had been "negligent" and had
violated safety procedures by using teargas inside the stadium.

"We saw people falling from the top bleachers," said Diarassouba
Adama, who was inside the stadium. "The stampede was provoked by
the security forces who threw tear gas canisters at us. I don't
know why they fired on us."

Relatives of the dead outside one of the capital's morgues
agreed. "My brother left to go to the stadium with his friends. At
the entrance, they were attacked by security forces. That's what
set off the stampede," Momodou Kamara said after identifying the
body of his brother.

Women fainted with grief outside the morgue Monday and others
sobbed as they held each other. Fathers and brothers stood, their
eyes red with sorrow.

Morgue officials released the names of the 19 dead -- including
two children, one of whom was age 10. There was no immediate word
Monday on the condition of the injured.

President Laurent Gbagbo announced a three-day period of
mourning to mark the incident, said his spokesman Coulibaly Gervais
on state TV. Prime Minister Guillaume Soro called a meeting of his
cabinet Monday to discuss the tragedy.

Local newspapers argued that more tickets had been sold than
were seats inside the 35,000-seat capacity stadium. The daily
"Super Sport" cited anonymous sources who said that fans were able
to bribe security forces to let them into the stadium for the game
even though they did not have tickets.

The game took place Sunday despite the deaths and Ivory Coast
won 5-0. It was the first match in the final stage of African
qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

"We are all so sad about what happened and can only send our
condolences to the family and friends of all those who died," said
Drogba, who scored two goals for the Ivory Coast in the match.

The organizer of the next World Cup, meanwhile, pledged Monday
there will be no stadium stampedes during Africa's first World Cup
in 2010 or during the 2009 Confederations Cup, both being held in
South Africa.

Danny Jordaan told reporters in Johannesburg that many African
fans buy their tickets only when they reach the stadium, and delays
often create impatient crowds outside.

"It triggers a stampede that leads to disaster," Jordaan said.
"Those things will not occur in the Confederations Cup or the World
Cup. It is impossible."

Jordaan said World Cup and Confederations Cup tickets will have
to be purchased well in advance and those without tickets will be
stopped far away from the stadiums.

He said stadium gates will open early, three hours before
kickoff, and public transportation to stadiums will be improved -
all to reduce anxious crowds.

Both he and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter offered their
condolences to the families.

If tear gas was to blame in Abidjan, it would be the fourth time
since 2001 that police firing tear gas have set off deadly stadium
stampedes in Africa.

In 2000, 13 fans died at a match in Zimbabwe after police fired
tear gas into the crowd. A year later, at least 123 people died in
Accra, Ghana, after security forces fired tear gas and seven other
fans were crushed to death in a stampede in Lubumbashi, Congo,
after police fired tear gas.